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There are intimations in the Rigveda about Tvaṣṭā as a metalsmith producing weapons. These are ancient indicators of archaeometallurgical, historical events hazily seen through the mists of time of the Bronze Age of Ancient Near East.
The divinity Tvaṣṭṛ is mentioned in the Mitanni treaty, which establishes him as a Proto-Indo-Iranian divinity. Tvaṣṭr is Śukrācārya's son, Śukrācārya (the weapons' mentor of the asura) is Bhṛgu's grandson and Vāruṇibhṛgu's son. Tvaṣṭr is the fathe of ViŚvarupa. "There is a possible link with Tuisto who is, according to Tacitus's Germania (98 CE), the divine ancestor of the Germanic peoples -- a narrative of ca. 2000 BCE of Proto-Indo-European peoples."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuisto
"This map shows the approximate locations of the major Germanic tribes in and around the geographical region of Germania, as mentioned in Tacitus' work the Germania."Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuisto
Tvaṣṭṛ (Sanskrit: त्वष्टृ) is the first born creator of the universe.
10.090.01 Purus.a, who has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, investing the earth in all directions, exceeds (it by a space) measuring ten fingers. [purus.a = embodied spirit; or, vira_j, the aggregate of all living beings, spirit embodied in the egg of Brahma_, i.e., the universal spirit animating all creation. Thousand = an infinite number; the human soul, extending from the navel, takes upits abode in the heart or the human breast; the supreme soul, having animated the universe, is present in man, either in a minute form or of definite dimensions].
10.090.02 Purus.a is verily all this (visible world), all that is, and all that is to be; he is also the lord of immortality; for he mounts beyond (his own condition) for the food (of living beings). [He mounts: lit., since he rises beyond by food; or, he is that which grows by nourishment; or, that which expands by nourshment; annena = pra_n.ina_m bhoghena_nnena nimittabhu_tena; "inasmuch as he assumes the condition of the world in order that sentient beings may enjoy the fruit of their acts (pra_n.ina_m karmaphalabhoga_ya), that is not his true nature": the supreme spirit, which in its own state is inert and undiscernible, becomes the visible world, that living beings may reap the fruit of their acts since they acquire moks.a or final liberation, the supreme spirit is the lord of immortality; anna = matter (Mun.d.aka Upanis.ad 1.8].
10.090.03 Such is his greatness; and Purus.a is greater even than this; all beings are one-fourth of him; his other three-fourths, (being) immortal, (abide) in heaven. [Such is his greatness: i.e., the greatness of Purus.a is as vast as the world of past, present, and future beings].
10.090.04 Three-fourths of Purus.a ascended; the other fourth that remained in this world proceeds repeatedly, and, diversified in various forms, went to all animate and inanimate creation. [Proceeds repeatedly: either in individuals by death and birth, or in the world by its temporary dissolution and renovation; sa_s'ana_nas'ane = those who eat and those who do not; i.e., the two classes of created things, those capable of enjoyment etc., as gods, men, animals, or incapable thereof, as mountains and rivers -- conscious and unconscious creation].
10.090.05 From him was born Vira_t. and from Vira_t. Purus.a; he, as soon as born, became manifested, and afterwards (created) the earth (and) then corporeal forms. [From him: tasma_t = from that one-fourth; or, from the a_dipurus.a; vira_t. purus.a: the first man, a_dipurus.ah; or, purus.ah = presiding male or spirit, life; the supreme spirit who by his delusion created the body of Vira_t., i.e., the egg of Brahma and entered into it in the form of life].
10.090.06 When the gods performed the sacrifice with Purus.a as the offering, then Spring was its ghi_, Summer the fuel, and Autumn the oblation. [Apparently a reference to an imaginary sacrifice (ma_nasam)].
10.090.07 They immolated as the victim upon the sacred grass Purus.a, born before (creation); with him the deities who were Sa_dhyas and those who were R.s.is sacrificed. [Sa_dhya = competent to create, i.e., Praja_pati and the rest].
10.090.08 From that victim, in whom the universal oblation was offered, the mixture of curds and butter was produced, (then) he made those animals over whom Va_yu presides, those that are wild, and those that are tame. [Va_yu: va_yuvyan: Taittiri_ya Bra_hman.a3.2.1.3; or, who are governed by instinct].
10.090.09 From that victim, in whom the universal oblation was offered, the r.ccas and sa_mans were produced; from him the metres were born; from him the yajus. was born. [tasma_d yajn~a_t = from that simple portion surnamed the universal sacrifice, sarvahu_tah, meaning Purus.a as the world; yajn~a = yajn~asa_dhana, the material of sacrifice, i.e., the victim. Purus.a is the spiritual cause and effect of material creation; it is from him, not from the ideal or real sacrifice, that all things originate].
10.090.10 When they immolated Purus.a, into how many portions did they divide him? What was his mouth called, what his arms, what his thighs, what were his feet called?
10.090.11 His mouth became the Bra_hman.a, his arms became the Ra_janya, his thighs became the Vais'ya; the S'u_dra was born from his feet. [The Bra_hman.a was his mouth; the Ra_janya was made his arms; that which was the Vais'ya was his thighs; the S'U_dra sprang from his feet: Muir, Sanskrit Texts, vol. 1, p.9].
10.090.12 The moon was born from his mind; the sun was born from his eye; Indra and Agni were born from his mouth, Va_yu from his breath. [Or, air and breath proceeded from his ear and fire rose from his mouth: Yajus.].
10.090.14 From his navel came the firmament, from his head the heaven was produced, the earth from his feet, the quarters of space from his ear, so they constituted the world.
10.090.15 Seven were the enclosures of the sacrifice, thrice seven logs of fuel were prepared, when the gods, celebrating the rite, bound Purus.a as the victim. [Seven enclosures: sapta paridhayah = seven metres, ga-yatri_ etc., and also as meaning the shallow trenches, three of which were dug round the A_havani_ya fireplace, three round the northern altar, and the seven ideally dug round the sun to keep off evil spirits. paridhayah = moats; or, the seven oceans; thrice seven pieces of fuel = twelve months of the year, the five seasons, the three worlds and the sun; or the three classes of seven metres eaach: Taittiri_ya Sam.hita_5.1.10.3].
10.090.16 By sacrifice the gods worshipped (him who is also) the sacrifice; those were the first duties. Those great ones became partakers of the heaven where the ancient deities the Sa_dhyas abide.
Some additions are used in tradition of Vaishnavanuvaka, to this Sukta and invoke Tvaṣṭṛ (Sanskrit: त्वष्टृ). The expanded Purusha sukta refers to the Purusha as Tvaṣṭṛ, who is the visible form of creativity emerged from the navel of the invisible Viswakarma.:
अ॒द्भ्यः सम्भू॑तः पृथि॒व्यै रसा॓च्च । वि॒श्वक॑र्मणः॒ सम॑वर्त॒ताधि॑ । तस्य॒ त्वष्टा॑ वि॒दध॑द्रू॒पमे॑ति । तत्पुरु॑षस्य॒ विश्व॒माजा॑न॒मग्रे॓ ॥
adbhyaḥ sambhū’taḥ pṛthivyai rasā”cca | viśvaka’rmaṇaḥ sama’vartatādhi’ | tasya tvaṣṭā’ vidadha’drūpame’ti | tatpuru’ṣasya viśvamājā’namagre” ||
The Viratpurusha manifested Himself from out of (the all-pervading) water as also the essence of the element of earth. This Viratpurusha was born out of the greatness of the Paramapurusha, the Creator. The (Paramapurusha, known as) Tvashta engaged Himself in the act of creating (the fourteen planetary systems), (which form of the expanded) figure (of the Viratpurusha). (Thus) the entire creation (related to the Viratpurusha) came into existence in the very beginning of creation.
वेदा॒हमे॒तं पुरु॑षं म॒हान्तम्॓ । आ॒दि॒त्यव॑र्णं॒ तम॑सः॒ पर॑स्तात् । तमे॒वं वि॒द्वान॒मृत॑ इ॒ह भ॑वति । नान्यः पन्था॑ विद्य॒तेஉय॑नाय ॥
vedāhametaṃ puru’ṣaṃ mahāntam” | ādityava’rṇaṃ tama’saḥ para’stāt | tamevaṃ vidvānamṛta’ iha bha’vati | nānyaḥ panthā’ vidyateஉya’nāya ||
"I have known that great Purusha (Supreme Being) who is brilliant like the sun and who is beyond all darkness. One who knows Him thus becomes immortal (even) here. There is no other path for liberation than this."
प्र॒जाप॑तिश्चरति॒ गर्भे॑ अ॒न्तः । अ॒जाय॑मानो बहु॒धा विजा॑यते । तस्य॒ धीराः॒ परि॑जानन्ति॒ योनिम्॓ । मरी॑चीनां प॒दमिच्छन्ति वे॒धसः॑ ॥
prajāpa’tiścarati garbhe’ antaḥ | ajāya’māno bahudhā vijā’yate | tasya dhīrāḥ pari’jānanti yonim” | marī’cīnāṃ padamicchanti vedhasa’ḥ ||
Prajapati (the Supreme Creator) moves inside the cosmic womb. (Though) unborn He takes birth in a variety of ways. The wise ones know His (real nature) as the origin (of the universe). The (secondary) creators desire to attain the positions of Marichi and others.
यो दे॒वेभ्य॒ आत॑पति । यो दे॒वानां॓ पु॒रोहि॑तः । पूर्वो॒ यो दे॒वेभ्यो॑ जा॒तः । नमो॑ रु॒चाय॒ ब्राह्म॑ये ॥
yo devebhya āta’pati | yo devānā”ṃ purohi’taḥ | pūrvo yo devebhyo’ jātaḥ | namo’ rucāya brāhma’ye ||
Obeisances to Him, the self-luminous Brahman, who shines for the (demi)gods, who is the leader of the rituals of the gods and who was born even before the gods.
रुचं॑ ब्रा॒ह्मं ज॒नय॑न्तः । दे॒वा अग्रे॒ तद॑ब्रुवन् । यस्त्वै॒वं ब्रा॓ह्म॒णो वि॒द्यात् । तस्य॒ दे॒वा अस॒न् वशे॓ ॥
ruca’ṃ brāhmaṃ janaya’ntaḥ | devā agre tada’bruvan | yastvaivaṃ brā”hmaṇo vidyāt | tasya devā asan vaśe” ||
In the beginning of creation, the gods, manifesting the light of Brahman, addressed Brahman thus: "That brahmana who realizes (You) thus, all the gods will come under his control."
ह्रीश्च॑ ते ल॒क्ष्मीश्च॒ पत्न्यौ॓ । अ॒हो॒रा॒त्रे पा॒र्श्वे । नक्ष॑त्राणि रू॒पम् । अ॒श्विनौ॒ व्यात्तम्॓ । इ॒ष्टं म॑निषाण । अ॒मुं म॑निषाण । सर्वं॑ मनिषाण ॥
hrīśca’ te lakṣmīśca patnyau” | ahorātre pārśve | nakṣa’trāṇi rūpam | aśvinau vyāttam” | iṣṭaṃ ma’niṣāṇa | amuṃ ma’niṣāṇa | sarva’ṃ maniṣāṇa ||
O Purusha! The goddesses Hri (modesty) and Sri (Lakshmi, wealth) are Your consorts. Day and night are Your lateral limbs. The stars are Your form. The Ashvins are your widely opened (mouth). (O Purusha) fulfill our desire for self-knowledge as also our desire for the enjoyments of this world (like longevity, cows, and horses). Give us all that we need.
तच्चं॒ योरावृ॑णीमहे । गा॒तुं य॒ज्ञाय॑ । गा॒तुं य॒ज्ञप॑तये । दैवी॓ स्व॒स्तिर॑स्तु नः । स्व॒स्तिर्मानु॑षेभ्यः । ऊ॒र्ध्वं जि॑गातु भेष॒जम् । शं नो॑ अस्तु द्वि॒पदे॓ । शं चतु॑ष्पदे ।
taccaṃ yorāvṛ’ṇīmahe | gātuṃ yaṅñāya’ | gātuṃ yaṅñapa’taye | daivī” svastira’stu naḥ | svastirmānu’ṣebhyaḥ | ūrdhvaṃ ji’gātu bheṣajam | śaṃ no’ astu dvipade” | śaṃ catu’ṣpade |
We seek that which gives us peace from sorrows, present and future. We seek growth for the rite of sacrifice and growth for patron of the rite, the
We seek that which gives us peace from sorrows that are, and those that are yet to occur. May sacrifices performed to please the lord and their performers flourish. May the grace of the Lord be with all mankind. May the earth be covered with blossoming plants, medicinal herbs and vegetation. Good come unto us from those with two feet, four feet and all creatures.
10.082.01 The maker of the senses, resolute in mind, engendered the water, (and then) these two (heaven and earth) floating (on the waters); when those ancient boundaries were fixed, then the heaven and earth were expanded. [The maker of the senses: lit., the father of the eye; manasa_ dhi_rah = reflecting that there was no one equal to himself; a_po va_ idam agre; a_pa eva sasarja_dau: Taittiri_ya Sam.hita_ 7.1.5.1; Manu 1.8].
10.082.02 Vis'vakarman, of comprehensive mind and manifold greatness, is all-pervading, the creator, the arranger and the supreme supervisor; him in whom the desires of their (senses) are satisfied with food, they call (him) supreme beyond the seven r.s.is. [The devata_: is Prama_tma_ or A_ditya, the sun; cf. Nirukta 10.26. The second line of the r.ca: him in whom they delight their forms (or places) with water, him, those who are skille din mantras call the A_ditya single, superior to the seven r.s.is; or, the wise make the seven r.s.is one with Vis'vakarman; Nirukta notes that at the universal sacrifice Vis'vakarman Bhauvana offered up all beings and then himself].
10.082.03 He who is our preserver, our parent, the creator (of all), who knows our abodes (and knows) all beings, who is the name-giver of the gods-- he is one; other beings come to him to inquire. [i.e., to ask, 'who is the supreme lord?' or, they ask, what their offices are, and he appoints them their several functions].
10.082.04 Those ancient R.s.is who adorned (with light) these beings in the animate and inanimate world, offer to him wealth (of sacrifice) as praisers with abundant (laudation).
10.082.05 What was that embryo which was beyond the heaven, beyond this earth, beyond the gods, beyond the asuras, which the waters first retained, in which all the gods contemplated each other?
10.082.06 The waters verily first retained the embryo in which all the gods were aggregated, single deposited on the navel of the unborn (creator), in which all beings abide. [The embryo is Vis'vakarman. arpitam an.d.am = mundane egg; or, bi_jam].
10.082.07 You know not him who has generated these (beings); (his life) is another, different from yours; wrapped in fog, and foolish speech (do they) wander (who are) gluttonous and engaged in devotion. [Sa_yan.a: "The assertion that we know Vis'vakarman in the same way as men say, 'I am devadatta, I am yajn~adatta', is false, for the essence (tattva) of Vis'vakarman Parames'vara is not endowed with conscious individual existence, but he is a different entity from you who are sentient beings, who have individual consciousness, and so forth". Wrapped in foolish speech: jalpya_: i.e., saying I am god, I am man etc.; ukthas'a_sah = singing hymns with a view to gaining felicity in a future state: you are merely anxious for enjoyment in this world and in the next, therefore you know nothing of Vis'vakarman; or, you who are engaged in enjoyment of this world or the next, being subject to false knowledge or ignorance, have no knowledge of the Truth].
10.082.02 Vis'vakarman, of comprehensive mind and manifold greatness, is all-pervading, the creator, the arranger and the supreme supervisor; him in whom the desires of their (senses) are satisfied with food, they call (him) supreme beyond the seven r.s.is. [The devata_: is Prama_tma_ or A_ditya, the sun; cf. Nirukta 10.26. The second line of the r.ca: him in whom they delight their forms (or places) with water, him, those who are skille din mantras call the A_ditya single, superior to the seven r.s.is; or, the wise make the seven r.s.is one with Vis'vakarman; Nirukta notes that at the universal sacrifice Vis'vakarman Bhauvana offered up all beings and then himself].
10.082.03 He who is our preserver, our parent, the creator (of all), who knows our abodes (and knows) all beings, who is the name-giver of the gods-- he is one; other beings come to him to inquire. [i.e., to ask, 'who is the supreme lord?' or, they ask, what their offices are, and he appoints them their several functions].
10.082.04 Those ancient R.s.is who adorned (with light) these beings in the animate and inanimate world, offer to him wealth (of sacrifice) as praisers with abundant (laudation).
10.082.05 What was that embryo which was beyond the heaven, beyond this earth, beyond the gods, beyond the asuras, which the waters first retained, in which all the gods contemplated each other?
10.082.06 The waters verily first retained the embryo in which all the gods were aggregated, single deposited on the navel of the unborn (creator), in which all beings abide. [The embryo is Vis'vakarman. arpitam an.d.am = mundane egg; or, bi_jam].
10.082.07 You know not him who has generated these (beings); (his life) is another, different from yours; wrapped in fog, and foolish speech (do they) wander (who are) gluttonous and engaged in devotion. [Sa_yan.a: "The assertion that we know Vis'vakarman in the same way as men say, 'I am devadatta, I am yajn~adatta', is false, for the essence (tattva) of Vis'vakarman Parames'vara is not endowed with conscious individual existence, but he is a different entity from you who are sentient beings, who have individual consciousness, and so forth". Wrapped in foolish speech: jalpya_: i.e., saying I am god, I am man etc.; ukthas'a_sah = singing hymns with a view to gaining felicity in a future state: you are merely anxious for enjoyment in this world and in the next, therefore you know nothing of Vis'vakarman; or, you who are engaged in enjoyment of this world or the next, being subject to false knowledge or ignorance, have no knowledge of the Truth].
The Samhita mentions associations with Vr̥tra and Dadhici, episodes later elaborated in Bhagavata Purana. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2015/06/tvastr-is-metaphor-for-veneration-of.html Tvaṣṭr̥ is a metaphor for veneration of metalwork artificers, Bhāratam Janam, in Rigveda.
RV 1.80.16 refers to Dadhyanc, son of Atharvan; RV 1.80.1 refers to Indra wielding the metal vajra thunderbolt weapon against VRtra. RV 1.85.9 refers to Indra slaying VRtra using the vajra made by TvaSTA and releasing the water of oceans. RV 1.32.1, RV 1.32.5 to 14, RV 1.52.2 to 15, RV 1.61.6 to 12, RV 1.80.3 to 5, RV 1.80, 3 to 13, RV 1.85.9, RV 1.86.6, RV 2.1.11, RV 3.54.15, RV 4.42.7, RV 6.47.2, RV 10.48.8, RV 10.65.2, RV 10.65.10, RV 10.66.8 also refers to Indra's battle against VRtra and as the slayer of VRtra. The gloss vRTrhA of RV 2.1.11 is also explained by Sayana as 'destroyer of sin'.
These references reinforce the role of Tvaṣṭā as a metal artificer who made metallic weapons. This gets elaborated in a narrative in the Bhagavata Purana related to a son of Tvaṣṭā called Vis'varupa who was killed in battle.
There is a remarkable episode of mispronunciation by Tvaṣṭā, making him a mleccha. This mispronunciation with a wrong accent on the phrase: Indra-śatro resulted in the birth of Vr̥tra who, instead of becoming a slayer of Indra, gets killed in battle by Indra.
In deciphering the Indus Script Corpora at catalogus catalogorum of metalwork as rebus-metonymy layered cipher of Meluhha (mleccha) speech, the outlines of Meluhha glosses with variant pronunciations (deemed mispronunciations according to the Vedic chandas rules and prosodic chanting tradition) become apparent while cataloguing metalwork artifacts traded across civilizational contact areas.
It is suggested that that archaeometallurgical references in the Rigveda related to the forging of metal weapons should be correlated with the artifacts attested archaeologically in the civilizational contact areas which extended along the Tin Road from Hanoi, Vietnam to Haifa, Israel.
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
June 17, 2015
Srimad Bhagavatam 6.9.11
"While the gods Indra and Agni stood for Power and Wisdom, the gods PUSan and Bhaga, Rbhus, TvaSTA and Vis'vakarman presided over the economic activities of the people. The technical and the ritual aspects of productive activity were closely united just as the forms of wealth were conceived in close connection with the favour of the gods...All rUpas are of TvaSTA (the divine fashioner). TvaSTA inherited them from Agni or, as Aitareya has it, TvaSTA is nothing but speech. In other words, all forms are originally contained in divine wisdom, the ultimate illuminer. It is from there that the artificing and fashioning mind derives them. Reality is conceived as a luminous powere which creates things or forms out of itself. The human mind is capable of responding to the Light and apperceiving the forms in which it expresses itself. The forms which man perceives, thus, are not phantasms produced by the senses or the mind but created things rooted in reality."(Pande, GC, 1990, Foundations of Indian culture: spiritual vision and symbolic forms, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, p.61, p.344)
"According to the Bhagavat Purana, he chanted: “Indra-satro vivardhasva ma ciram jahi vidvisam” (“O enemy of Indra, flourish to kill your enemy without delay”). (Bhagavat Purana 6.9.11). Tvasta intended to chant the word indra-satro, meaning, “O enemy of Indra.” Instead of chanting those words short, Tvasta chanted it long, and its meaning changed from “the enemy of Indra” to “Indra, who is an enemy.” Consequently, instead of a son who would kill the king of the gods, he had a son who would die at Indra’s hands. The smallest mistake in pronunciation led to his plans being foiled." -- Nimai Agarwal http://kidspiritonline.com/2014/12/the-power-of-words-in-my-tradition/
[quote]hata-putras tatas tvasta
juhdvendraya satrave
indra-satro vivardhasva
ma ciramjahi vidvisam
TRANSLATION
After Visvarupa was killed, his father, Tvasta, performed ritualistic ceremonies to kill Indra. He offered oblations in the sacrificial fire, saying, "O enemy of Indra, flourish to kill your enemy without delay."
PURPORT
There was some defect in Tvasta's chanting of the mantra because he chanted it long instead of short, and therefore the meaning changed. Tvasta intended to chant the word indra-satro, meaning, "O enemy of Indra." In this mantra, the word indra is in the possessive case (sasthi), and the word indra-satro is called a tat-purusa compound (tatpurusa-samasa) . Unfortunately, instead of chanting the mantra short, Tvasta chanted it long, and its meaning changed from "the enemy of Indra" to "Indra, who is an enemy." Consequently instead of an enemy of Indra's, there emerged the body of Vrtrasura, of whom Indra was the enemy.
Bhag. 6.9.11
In the compound word indra-satro, the ending of the word satro is uttered short when it is in the possessive case (sasthi) and long when it is in the vocative case (sambodhana) . Tvasta mistakenly uttered it long. He expected "Indra's killer" to be born from the sacrifice, but the mantra he uttered meant "Indra is the killer of the person to be born."
In the above scenario, "long" and "short" do not denote dirgha and hrasva (see section 2.4.2 on vowels), but long (udatta) and short (anudatta) pitch accents on vowels (also in 2.4.2). Tvasta spoke Vedic Sanskrit (vaidika bhasa or vaidika samskrta), in which the word meaning can change depending on the pitch in which a vowel is accented. Vedic Sanskrit occurs only in the sruti-sastra, the four Vedas, and it is also called srauta bhasa. The rest of Sanskrit literature is written in classical Sanskrit (laukika bhasa or laukika samskrta), which is not altered by vowel pitch accents.
The commentaries by Sridhara Svami and Varhsidhara on Bhagavatam 6.9.11 explain this incident in more detail. They say that the version of the mantra given in 6.9.11 is different from the mantra used by Tvasta. The mantra given in the Vedas and described by Sridhara Svami and Vamsidhar was indra-satrur vardhasva, and their explanations of the mistake are based on this. It was customary to change a Vedic mantra a bit when mentioning sruti texts in writing because the audience did not necessarily have qualifications (adhikara) in sruti. Hence the mantra from the Veda was changed in 6.9.11. Or it was changed owing to considerations of the verse meter. Hence we see that there is no actual vocative in the Vedic mantra. Sridhara Svami mentions that the mistake was in the svaras, vowel pitch accents. As far as the letters were concerned, they were accurately chanted. The mistake in the svaras (vowel pitch accents) was that he chanted "indra" with the udatta accent, which changed it from what was intended (a tatpurusa meaning "Indra's enemy") to something else (a bahuvrihi) meaning Tndra is the killer of the person to be born." [unquote] Vritra is also mentioned in the Rig Veda, where he is the demon of drought, who imprisons all the strom clouds and causes drought. Indra slays him with his thunder-bolt (Vajra) and frees the strom-clouds, bring bountiful rain to end the famine.
Slaying of Vritra
This story is taken from B.P. and Bhagavata Purana (Canto 6, Chapter 7-13).
Brihaspati was the Guru of the Devas. He was very learned and was first among the Brahmanas. Everyone used to respect him. It so happened, that when he visited the court of Indra, the King of the Gods was busy watching his beautiful Apsaras sing and dance, saw his Guru arrive. However, in his arrogance, he did not rise from his throne, nor did he utter the customary words of welcome and worship.
The sage felt insulted. He resolved that he will no longer grace the councils of the Devas, and went away to perform penance. Too late, Indra realized his mistake. H searched high and low for his perceptor, but could not find him. Without their Guru to guide them, the Devas could not survive for long. Besides, their traditional foes, the Asuras, will seek to exploit this opportunity to and cash in on their weakened state.
Acting on the advice of Lord Brahma, the Devas installed Vishwarupa, the son of the God Tvashta as their new Guru. He was also a Brahmana renowned for his learning and yogic power. As time progressed, Vishwarupa started to notice that Indra and the Devas spent an inordinate amount of time in pursuit of pleasure. Besides, his mother was aAsura woman, and his loyalty was divided. Secretly, he started giving a portion of the sacrificial oblations (Havis) to the Asuras. As a result, their strength increased.
When Indra came to know of this treachery, he became very angry. Without pausing to think the consequences of his actions, he struck off the three heads of Vishwarupa. The first head, that was used for drinking Soma, became a francolin partridge, the second head, used for drinking wine turned into a sparrow and the third, used for eating, turned into a partridge. the head of his teacher with his sword. Since he had killed a Brahmana, that too his Guru, he became guilty of the sin of Brahma-Hatya. However, he escaped his punishment by distributing the sin among the land, water, and women. (Other accounts say that his lusture diminished and he had to regain it by doing penance, during which time he was exiled from heaven.) In return for ridding Indra of the sin, earth got water to fill its empty holes, trees got re-growth of cut branches, waters became purifying, and women obtained undiminished sexual desire. As a result of their share of the sin, earth has wastelands, trees have sap, waters have froth, and women have menstruation.
Now, Tvashta wanted revenge for the murder of his son. He began arrangements for a sacrifice that would give him a son who could slay Indra. The sacrifice was duly performed, but there was a small problem. When it was time for the final incantations, Tvashta ought to have said, "May this son of mine be the slayer of Indra", but he stressed the wrong syllables in the Mantra, and the meaning changed to "May Indra be the slayer of this son of mine."
From the sacrificial fire, there rose a terrible Asura. He was named Vritra, 'the encloser'. He immediately grew immensely big and was as large as the largest mountain. His hair was like molten copper, he had a mustache and beard of the same color and had eyes blazing like the midday sun. He was armed with a magical trident. He derived his immense strength from the incantations chanted at the sacrifice. His father then ordered him to go and slayIndra. Obedient to the command, the demon began to seek the slayer of his elder brother.
Some time before this, the Asuras had been thoroughly defeated by the Devas in battle. Peace reigned for a while. The Devas needed a place to store their weapons safely, for they feared treachery. They then remembered that the Asuras dared not approach the hermitage of the sage Dadhichi, such was the yogic power of the hermit. They entrusted all their weapons to his safekeeping.
When Dadhichi's wife Lopamudra came to know about this, she was not pleased. She said to her husband, "An ascetic should not take sides in a war. Now the Asuras will think that you are their enemy and seek to harm you. Besides, the Gods have not mentioned how long you are to take care of their weapons. If something were to happen to them in your custody, will they not blame you. We have renounced all worldly possessions and attachments, you were wrong to have taken this responsibility."
Dadhichi saw the force of her arguments. He said, "What you say certainly makes sense. However, I have given my word. It is important to stand by ones promise. Besides, the Asuras were always the enemies of us sages, so the question of neutrality does not arise. What is fated will happen, and no one prevent it."
Years passed, and Dadhichi was alarmed to note that the lusture of the divine weapons was beginning to diminish. Their power was slowly dissolving in air. The sage then used his yogic power to dissolve all the weapons in water and then he drank it all up. Their power was then lodged in his bones.
Now, with Vritra threatening at their doorsteps, the Devas wanted their weapons back. Dadhichi said, "I have bad news for you. Your weapons are no longer there. Their power now resides in my bones. I shall give up my life. You can then have new weapons made from my bones."
The Gods naturally balked at the thought of the Rishi's death. However, no other choice was available, for they needed the weapons to battle Vritra. Dadhichi gave up his life. Vishwakarma made Indra the weapon Vajra from the back bone of the hermit. This weapon was the most powerful weapon of all.
The armies of the Devas and Asuras met in the battlefield. From the furious onslaught of the Asura army, theDevas were initially driven back, but they redoubled their efforts and slowly gained the upper hand.
Seeing his forces retreating, Vritra was extremely angry. He charged ahead and stopped the advance of the Devas single-handedly. He let out a mighty roar, which caused many of the Devas to faint. Under his purposeful tread, the heavens began to shake. He picked up his immense mace and struck Iyravata with it. Indra revived his mount with a touch of Amrit.
At this point, angry words were exchanged between Vritra and Indra.
The Asura taunted Indra for having slain his brother, a defenseless Brahmana.
Angered, Indra struck off one hand of Vritra with his sword. In retaliation, theAsura made his mouth immensely huge and swallowed Indra whole.
Though he was swallowed by the Asura, Indra did not die, for he was protected by the grace of Vishnu. He judged it to be time to use his Vajra. He used the great weapon and sliced open the abdomen of the demon, and emerged victorious.
However, having slain the creature emerged from a holy sacrifice, he was once again weighed down with sin. Unlike before, he could not get rid of it easily. He retired to the banks of Manasarovar and performed a penance for thousand years to expiate his sins and to regain his lusture.
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